Erica, a staff engineer at a construction consulting firm, was faced with a dilemma. Her manager asked her to follow up with the client about a proposal they had submitted the week before, but she was confused about what her boss meant by “follow up.” Was she supposed to confirm receipt, request a signed document back, or highlight the firm’s consulting capabilities? As someone new to her role, she wanted to prove that she could figure it out alone. She would type a few words, then press “Delete,” and rewrite the email again. When she finally sent a draft to her manager for approval, they sent back lots of edits, leaving her insecure and discouraged.
Erica’s situation is not unique. In my experience as a business-writing consultant, I regularly coach employees who are asked to rewrite emails, documents, and other communications multiple times. Often this happens because the executive who assigned the task feels the finished product is conveying the wrong message. In Erica’s case, she failed to ask for much-needed clarifications surrounding the purpose of the message, the person it was intended for, and the point she was supposed to make. As a result, she was unable to communicate what was expected.
Where Most People Go Wrong
Writing errors often arise even before a person sets pen to paper. While planning is the most critical part of the writing process, unfortunately, many individuals have not been equipped with a quick, effective system for preparing to write.
What can you do to get better at business writing?
This simple three-question framework, which I call the three P’s will help you jump-start your writing process — whether you’re tackling an email, a formal document, social post, or another form of written communication. Before diving in, ask yourself these questions:
- What is the purpose of this document?
- Who (person) is going to read it? What are that person’s emotional trigger points and questions that might have an impact on my message?
- What, in one or two sentences, is my point?
These three P’s make up your writings DNA and can help you to streamline the writing process, clear your mind, and create more impactful work. Here’s how to use them.
Purpose: The North Star
The three P’s begin with purpose — the North Star of your message that steers it toward its goal. The most common purposes of business documents, ranging from brief emails to voluminous reports, are:
- To inform
- To request
- To persuade
Think of purpose as the intention — the result you want to achieve. For example, every document contains information, but that doesn’t mean that the purpose of all documents is to inform.
If you are writing a report on the outcome of a marketing initiative, ask yourself what the purpose of the report is. Are you simply informing your managers of the results or persuading them that you did a good job and deserve more resources? Or think of an email to a client regarding the need to submit important paperwork. Are you informing them that the documents are necessary, requesting that they send them, or persuading them that they will benefit from sending the materials promptly? Knowing your purpose in advance creates the context for your whole document.
To narrow down on the purpose, ask yourself:
- What do I want the reader to do after reading these words? If they are supposed to act or think differently, then you are probably requesting or persuading.
- Am I just sending this as an FYI? Then your purpose is to inform. Note that when you choose informing as your purpose, you are assuming that the person will not respond. To get a response, you must ask for it by making a request or showing the benefits of responding.
In a recent writing class, I asked Ed, a participant, to identify the purpose of his document. “To inform,” he replied.
“What are you informing the recipient of?” I asked.
“To inform him that his purchase order (PO) is about to expire and that he needs to renew it within 14 days if he wants to continue making purchases.”
There was information in the document, but the reader was supposed to act to renew the PO. Thus, the real purpose of Ed’s document was to request that the reader renew his PO within 14 days. With this purpose in mind, he wrote a message that moved the client relationship forward. Ed might have thought that telling the client his PO was expiring would make them realize that they should renew it; however, his client might be deluged with emails and other work and unable to focus on the next steps to take. The client needed guidance about what action was necessary, and that meant that Ed had to make a request.
Person: An Understanding of Your Audience
How do you feel when you read something that contains words you don’t understand? Or something that sounds like it was written for a child? Probably, you are less receptive to the message when the language aims too high or too low and does not treat you as an equal.
Your document will not generate any outcome until the readers understand your message. They may agree or disagree, like or dislike, but unless they understand you, your efforts are in vain. If you want readers to understand your message, you need to know them. Three elements make a difference:
Speak the reader’s language.
Say, for example, you are writing to a prospective customer about your data security service. If you are addressing the chief technology officer, you can use some technical terms; however, if your message is directed at the chief executive officer, you might use fewer technical terms on the assumption that the CEO leaves technical details to that department.
Particularly when writing to an audience in a different culture or to people who speak English as a second language, it is essential to use clear, straightforward language, and avoid idioms that might baffle your readers. Show respect by choosing words and sentence structures your readers will easily understand. Be mindful of using jargon or too many acronyms. As a practice, identify acronyms the first time you use them.
Anticipate and answer the reader’s questions.
As readers read, questions form in their minds. They ask questions like, “What am I supposed to do about it? When is it due?” and of course the most fundamental question, “What’s in it for me?”
For example, if the HR department sends a company-wide memo regarding a new health insurance plan, employees will naturally ask how the new plan will affect them. By proactively addressing such concerns in their initial memo, the HR department can avoid receiving countless inquiries.
Readers may also have more specific questions that you should aim to answer in your message. For example, if you are responding to a customer complaint about a phone bill, the reader’s questions may include, “Why did this cost so much?” or “Why wasn’t I made aware of this more clearly?” Anticipate and answer the reader’s substantive questions.
Target the reader’s “hot buttons.”
Each of us has “hot buttons” — emotional trigger topics that make our hearts go pitter-pat. For one person, a hot button might be cost or For another, it might be productivity or avoiding litigation. Whatever the person’s emotional makeup may be, you can be sure that there are topics that will cause them to jolt awake and pay close attention to your message.
For example, when the engineering staff of a regional water utility consulted me about how to gain executive approval for a new valve that would cost $1 million, I advised them to downplay the cost (although, of course they disclosed it). Instead, I suggested they highlight the gains in reliability and safety and the avoidance of the negative publicity associated with the flooding that would occur if the old valve failed.
Remember that you can only fulfill your purpose if you engage your reader. So, consider your readers: What makes them tick? Are they people who value profit above all, or do they have higher values such as environmental impact? What topics can you allude to that will get and keep their attention?
Point: The Heart of the Matter
Have you ever received a document that you read several times and could still not discern the point? This situation usually arises when writers themselves have not clarified the main point in advance. If the writer does not know the point, the reader will be hard-pressed to see it.
The point is your essential message. It is closely connected to your purpose and may at times overlap with it. If you imagine that communication is like shooting an arrow, then the purpose is the direction in which the arrow is aimed. The person is the target. The point is the arrow: It’s the message you are sending to your reader.
Returning to the story of Ed and the client’s renewal of the PO, the purpose was to request. The point then becomes, “Please renew the PO.” Similarly, if you have written a report about your marketing campaign, your purpose is to persuade. The point is that the campaign produced a measurable impact on sales and is worthy of further investment.
When identifying the point, ask yourself what you would say if you ran into your reader on the street and he said to you, “I didn’t have time to read your email. Just tell me what it said.” What you would say in 15 seconds to your reader is probably your main point.
Get to the point very early in your document, preferably within the first 40 to 50 words, while your reader is still paying attention (and before they delete or archive your email).
The Symbiotic Relationship of the Three P’s
The magic of the three P’s lies in their symbiotic relationship. Purpose sets the direction and context of the whole message. Once you know the purpose, you ask yourself how you can fulfill it. You can only fulfill your purpose through the person who reads — and hopefully accepts — your message. After you have established your purpose and analyze the person, you will be in a position to hone your point. One example I like to give is this:
Imagine that you own a South Seas Island, and you want to sell it. Your purpose is to persuade your prospect to purchase the island. You have two prospective buyers. One is the CFO of a major multinational corporation. His plan is to develop the island into a luxury resort. The second prospect is an indigenous matriarch who was born on the island, moved to the mainland, and made a fortune selling to tourists. Her plan is to preserve the island’s natural habitat and make it a retreat for her family. You have the same purpose, but two very different readers. Would you make the same points in both sales presentations? Obviously not. Purpose leads to person, which leads to point.
Integrating the three P’s into your workflow ensures that your emails, posts, reports, proposals, and anything else you write, serve their intended purpose, delivering clear, actionable points that resonate with your readers. Perhaps this is why students from my business writing training have reached out to me years later to say that they continue to integrate the Three P’s into their daily work.